Contentedness and decluttering

March 27, 2014

After a winter of much busy-ness on my part, the other day my youngest daughters and I plowed through a ridiculous amount of chaos in their bedroom. I don’t care how often you tell a kid to clean their room, there’s just nothing like mom sitting there in the chaos with you to inspire real actual deep cleaning. Half a day of work produced ten kitchen trash bags of giveaways/throw-aways, AND a whole fresh level of bedroom happiness in my girlies.

That lovely space-finding success inspired me to do more. I decided to once again aim to give away/throw away 40 bags in 40 days– you can find the details of that challenge here on Clover Lane. I think I’ve blogged about it before. Today I went through my side of the closet and came up with another bag full of giveaways, and when the teenagers wake up this morning, they will each be handed a bag and asked to fill it. I’ll peek through what they decide to toss just in case something might be useful for a younger one, but the vast majority of the time, we miss giveaways not ONE bit.

It is amazing how much bigger a space can feel when you just get rid of what’s cluttering it. I honestly breathe a little deeper and feel a greater sense of peace walking into a clean space. It’s such a simple way to rejuvenate a space that maybe is feeling tired or full or overwhelming. And it’s such a simple way to find greater contentment with what you have.

One of the places I’ll be working today is in our library. Some books I’ll donate or offer to our adult kids. Others I’ll list on paperback swap, so I can let the younger kids pick some new books. I’m thinking it’d be nice to have a shelf or two in the library empty enough to display something pretty. Do you have any decluttering projects in mind for your house?

{ 10 Comments }

Love it! I’m approaching my 25th class reunion and it prompted me to go through 6 storage tubs of “keepsakes” from high school. Really, do I still need that state track meet t-shirt that has a decomposing neckline? What about my flag corp uniform?? Yep, probably going to wear that next week. What about the collection of Pat Benetar 45-rpm records? Most went in the trash, some were re-purposed. Oddly enough though the Historical Society wanted my flag corp uniform. Hmm. Thanks for the inspiration to continue with a household challenge!!

I’ve been decluttering for a couple of months now. Things are feeling so much lighter and brighter! There are still lots of areas to go through, but it’s become fun to see how many bags we can remove! I’m not actually counting them, but just taking them weekly to the thrift store is encouraging.

My husband and I are discussing moving. We have definitely outgrown this house. But while we spend the next year figuring out if we can/want to commit to more house and more mortgage, I am going to clean out the house and paint – you know, like we are moving. I have the feeling by the time we are done cleaning out and fixing up to move, we will decide we are happy here for a few more years.

“Decluttering” sounds sooo much nicer than the “I’ve got to get rid of some of this crap” line that has been running through my head nearly every day lately. The next couple of days are going to be pretty busy, but I’m hoping to do some of that clutter-removal activity next week. Part of my problem is that I really like the Freecycle program, so I set stuff aside to post for others, but then never post. That pile grows and meanders, and it isn’t actually GONE as I’d intended. Perhaps the thrift store and garbage removal people will be utilized this round just to actually get some forward progress. Then there are also all those weeds in the yard, growing much more rampantly than the grass… Could I borrow a cow or goat for a couple of days?

Just after I saw this post the other day I pulled the basket of things my 14 yo daughter had decluttered from her room and started adding to it. Then a woman at co-op told me about a Just between Friends sale coming up. So far I have pulled 3 baskets full of items from our “school room”, and video library. Hoping to tackle the room of my creative clutter bug tomorrow!

I feel better decluttering when I have a designated place for stuff to go to- , but my niece is a parkie this summer and needs giveaways as they have a 10 budget- bam there go all the birthday party goodie bag stuff, new waterbottles, and key chains. My neighbor has a dd with physical challenges and theyre trying to get her a swing- there goes stuff for her rummage sales. We did a consignment sale- extra money plus extra room..

Would you like occasional email updates from me? Type your email address here to be added.